-- In what is one of the worst-kept secrets going, the Raiders are going to show Sunday that a man can go from hanging out at the beach to starting an NFL game at quarterback a week later.

Carson Palmer, who was killing time in Los Angeles for the first third of the season, will start for the Raiders against the Chiefs, team and league sources said Wednesday.

Earlier in the day, Oakland offensive coordinator Al Saunders told a Kansas City radio station that Palmer would be starting Sunday "as long as he's breathing."

Raiders head coach Hue Jackson, for the record, said after practice - Palmer's first since being traded from the Cincinnati Bengals on Tuesday - that he is in "no rush" to name a starting quarterback. After all, Palmer hasn't taken a snap in 9 1/2 months, since he told the Bengals he would rather retire than play for them this season.

"I have some concerns," Jackson said. "I do. (But) I kind of like that. I kind of like it like that."

Jackson was asked how Palmer looked, and said, "He looked like a quarterback. A big, pretty, athletic quarterback that can throw."

Palmer shared first-team snaps with two-year backup Kyle Boller and said he felt "rusty" and is "doing everything I can and preparing" to start Sunday. He stayed after practice to throw with receivers Jacoby Ford and Darrius Heyward-Bey.

"He looked good," Ford said. "It's just a matter of the timing. He has to get that down and get used to the offense and has to get used to new receivers. Whenever we can do that, we'll be clicking on all cylinders."

It has been a nice change of pace for Palmer, who was working out with ex-Bengals receiver T.J. Houshmandzadeh and high schoolers last week. After one Jason Campbell injury and a trade for one first-round pick - and possibly two - Palmer was shaking hands, diving into a playbook and trying to get back into violent-NFL-football shape.

"There's definitely a learning curve involved for sure, and I noticed that right off the bat," Palmer said. "But it was exciting. It was fun to be playing football, it was fun to be in a huddle again, it was fun to be throwing routes. ... But I definitely have my work cut out for me."

As for Boller, the ninth-year veteran handled the week's events in a classy manner, even taking the starting quarterback's Wednesday turn at the podium when the team asked him to.

"Carson's a great player," the former Cal quarterback said. "He's a guy that's proven himself. All I can do is what I can control. And that's come to work and be the best player that I can be. ... I'm glad to have him. He's a great player, and you want to get as many great guys on the team as you can."

Back in Kansas City, they're not exactly losing sleep over the Palmer-Boller decision.

"First and foremost, we have to stop one of the best running attacks in the league, one of the best backs (Darren McFadden) in the league," Chiefs coach Todd Haley said. "If we don't do that, it will be a long day for us. It won't matter really who's playing quarterback."